Meet Chris Wilcox

  • Writings
  • Media
  • Quips
  • Store
  • About Chris
  • Contact

New song: “Old and Bitter”

08.10.2016 by Chris Wilcox //

I recall a particular meal at a Denny’s restaurant, seated next to a couple in what some might euphemistically refer to as their “golden years.” Although this couple’s years sounded more like clattering tin. The elderly woman, with her barking, creaky voice, spent the entire mealtime berating her mostly-quiet companion and reciting a list of no-good people who had wronged her in various ways. As she spoke, her suspicion and hostility seemed to pollute the entire restaurant. I haven’t encountered such clear, forceful expression of a foul attitude before or since.

Without knowing the whole backstory – just as a person encountering this other person in the world – I couldn’t help but wonder “Why go on living like that?”

And then there’s Betty White. Kris Kristofferson. Dick Van Dyke. A smiling elderly couple I’ve seen riding matching his-and-hers recumbent bikes around town. They age, too. I’m sure they struggle with it, just like everyone else. But somehow they stay engaged. They keep doing interesting things, and even finding new things to be interested in when they can’t do the old things in the way they used to.

They don’t do it for our benefit. It’s no one’s job to be inspirational to anyone else. They do it for themselves, because life is simply better that way.

People like that are wonderful, aren’t they?

Beats the alternative response to life, anyway.

Here’s a song about how I would – and wouldn’t – like to age.

Old and Bitter

Enjoy this? Tell someone about it.

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)

Categories // Songs Tags // Soul-Searchy

Suggested Kindnesses

  1. Support Chris by buying 31 Down or the sit-down stand-up comedy downloads.
  2. If you enjoyed this post, pass it along to a friend or mention it on social media.
  3. Be nice to animals.
Something to say about this? Public comments (that may appear on the site, subject to the rules of grammar and good taste) will be open for one week after the posting of each new thing. Or you can always send an email.

Latest Updates

Better late than never

May 16, 2022

Leaving only confusion in its wake

May 1, 2022

Fancy names for common things

March 20, 2022

Types of Stuff

Ephemera Listen Prose Saturdays Songs Updates

Copyright © 2014 - 2022 by Chris M. Wilcox · All Rights Reserved